Film Matters Style Guide

Contents

 Style Guide Overview p. 2  Style Guide Checklists p. 3  A Note on the Editing Process p. 4  Eligibility to Publish with Film Matters p. 4  Copyright and Publishing Articles with Film Matters p. 5  Copyright and Publishing Reviews with Film Matters p. 5  Further Information p. 6  Film Titles p. 7  References p. 7  Quotations p. 7  Spelling p. 7  Feature Articles p. 8  Featurette Articles p. 8  Book Reviews p. 8  Film & DVD/Blu-ray Reviews p. 9  Contributor & Contact Details p. 10  Thanks p. 10

Style Guide Overview

Please do not submit an article or review text unless it is the absolute final version. This will minimize any confusion and insure that outdated or incorrect versions are not published.

Pieces that do not adhere to the style guidelines listed below will be returned to authors for appropriate revision. To insure proper adherence to the style guidelines, please consult the checklists below. 3

Style Guide Checklists

Every file submitted to Liza Palmer or Tim Palmer, Co-Editors-in-Chief, should include the following components (please scroll down to read the appropriate section):

Feature Articles:

Title 5-8 keywords, describing the article Article text Parenthetical citations or endnotes formatted according to MLA guidelines (8th edition) Brief feature author biography (approximately 50 words) Brief biography of faculty or staff mentor who supported this article in some way (approximately 50 words) Brief overview of the department and/or university that the author attends (approximately 50 words) Article author contact information, including long-term email and mailing address

Featurette Articles:

Title 5-8 keywords, describing the article Article text Parenthetical citations or endnotes formatted according to MLA guidelines (8th edition) Brief featurette author biography (approximately 50 words) Article author contact information, including long-term email and mailing address

Book Reviews:

Bibliographic information for book(s), including formats and prices (please see “Book Reviews” below for more information as to how this information should be organized) Review text Brief review author biography (approximately 50 words) Review author contact information, including long-term email and mailing address.

Film and/or DVD/Blu-ray Reviews:

Film and/or DVD/Blu-ray credits (please see “Film & DVD/Blu-ray Reviews” below for more information as to how this information should be organized) Review text Brief review author biography (approximately 50 words) Review author contact information, including long-term email and mailing address 4

A Note on the Editing Process

Film Matters reserves the right to edit your texts for clarity, grammar, spelling, syntax, and formatting. For editorial changes like these, we will not necessarily submit a revised text for your approval before publication. However, we will make no changes that significantly alter your arguments, criticisms, or ideas without your permission.

Please note: failure to engage fully with the copyediting process, to revise texts according to the copyeditor’s suggestions, and to respond to the copyeditor’s queries may result in your article or review being pulled from its assigned issue. If this occurs, you must actively contact Film Matters to inquire whether your piece can be reinstated in a future issue.

Eligibility to Publish with Film Matters

Film Matters seeks papers written by undergraduate film scholars. Calls for papers are open to any undergraduate student, currently enrolled at an institution of higher learning worldwide and working towards a bachelor’s degree in any field. Recent graduates are also eligible, providing they submit to a call the deadline for which occurs within six months from their graduation date (or up to a year, providing that the recent graduate is not enrolled in graduate school). Any original piece of written scholarship, involving film criticism, history, or theory will be considered for publication. By submitting a paper for a call, authors are certifying that: (1) they are undergraduate students, currently enrolled at an institution of higher learning and working towards a bachelor’s degree (or they are recent graduates of twelve months or less from the date of the call deadline, providing they are not enrolled in graduate school); and (2) their submitted essays are original pieces of written scholarship, authored solely by them, and have not been published in any form, in any publication, heretofore.

All Film Matters contributors must submit completed publication forms (the Intellect Publishing Agreement plus the appropriate Film Matters author form for feature articles, featurette articles, or reviews) in order to proceed with the publishing process. These forms are located on our website on the “Style Guide & Forms” page (http://www.filmmattersmagazine.com/style- guide/).

While you, the author, retain the copyright to your intellectual property, by accepting Film Matters' offer to publish from the Editor-in-Chief, you are entering into a presumptive binding contract and, by such, transferring the right to publish this material solely upon Film Matters. Film Matters will make every effort to publish your text in a timely manner; however, we reserve the right to delay publication due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e., matters of space, adherence to style or publication guidelines, production delays). If Film Matters is unable to publish your text in the expected timeframe and you wish to seek other publication opportunities, you must first request that the contract be terminated. Film Matters allows authors to publish postprint versions (i.e., the final version of record, usually in Microsoft Word form, prior to layout and publication in Film Matters, either in print or online) of their articles, for self-archiving purposes only on personal websites and/or in institutional repositories, providing that: (1) it is at least two years from the date of original publication in Film Matters (in print or online); and (2) it fully acknowledges Film Matters by referencing the bibliographic information from the published version.

While you, the author, retain the copyright to your intellectual property, by accepting review items from the Review Section Editor you are entering into a presumptive binding contract and, by such, transferring the right to publish this material solely upon Film Matters. Film Matters will make every effort to publish your text in a timely manner; however, we reserve the right to delay publication due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e., matters of space, adherence to style or publication guidelines, production delays). If Film Matters is unable to publish your text in the expected timeframe and you wish to seek other publication opportunities, you must first request that the contract be terminated; and in the instance of reviews, where you, the author, have received compensation in kind for your services (i.e., a book, DVD, or Blu-ray), your request may be denied. Film Matters allows authors to publish postprint versions (i.e., the final version of record, usually in Microsoft Word form, prior to layout and publication in Film Matters, either in print or online) of their articles, for self-archiving purposes only on personal websites and/or in institutional repositories, providing that: (1) it is at least two years from the date of original publication in Film Matters (in print or online); and (2) it fully acknowledges Film Matters by referencing the bibliographic information from the published version.

Further Information

Please consult the document Intellect Journals House Style (http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/MediaManager/File/style%20guide%28journals%29-1.pdf) for more information on preferred Intellect style guidelines.

Otherwise, please contact Liza Palmer ([email protected]) or Tim Palmer ([email protected]), Co-Editors-in-Chief for Film Matters, for specific style questions not addressed below.

Film Titles

When making reference to films within your text, please provide the year of release in parentheses after the first instance of the film title within your text. Film titles should be italicized and not underlined. Finally, when referencing films, please use the English-language title first, followed by the original title in parentheses, the last name of the director, and the release date, like so:

Tokyo Story (Tôkyô monogatari, Ozu, 1953)

With non-English-language film titles, please capitalize only the first word of the title (unless the first word is a variation of the word “the,” in which case capitalize the first and second words). For instance:

Nos enfants chéris versus La Règle du jeu

References

Any references to texts and/or films must be correctly referenced either within the text or in the bibliography, following MLA guidelines (8th edition). Parenthetical citations are preferred, but endnotes will be accepted.

Quotations

Please follow American guidelines when quoting, using double quotation marks for quotes and single quotation marks for quotes within quotes.

Spelling

Film Matters prefers American spellings. Merriam-Webster is our primary reference (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Feature Articles

Feature articles should range from 2500 to 4000 words in length, with 3000 words being the ideal target. We will, however, consider articles outside this range. Articles should be scholarly in nature, with references to research formatted according to MLA guidelines (8th edition). Furthermore, they should make a well-supported argument and not simply report. These articles undergo a peer review process.

Featurette Articles

Featurette articles should range from 1500 to 2000 words in length. We will, however, consider articles outside this range. Featurettes can take the form of profile pieces (of films, directors, festivals, publications, resources), interviews, festival reports, etc. Any references to research should be formatted according to MLA guidelines (8th edition). These articles DO NOT undergo a peer review process but are published upon approval of the Co-Editors-in-Chief.

Book Reviews

Book reviews should ideally range between 500 and 1000 words. Please provide all the bibliographic, format, and price (dollars are preferred; please consult publisher websites or the Amazon list price) information for your book(s) at the top of your text, like this:

Alphaville, Chris Darke (2005) London: IB Tauris, 114pp., ISBN: 1850439869 (pbk), $9.99, ISBN: 1845112180 (hbk), $25.00

Here is an example of an edited work:

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds: A Manipulation of Metacinema, Robert von Dassanowsky, ed. (2012) New York: Continuum, 307pp., ISBN: 1441138699 (pbk), $24.95; ISBN: 9781441138217 (hbk), $80.00

Film & DVD/Blu-ray Reviews

Film and DVD/Blu-ray reviews should ideally range between 500 and 1000 words. Please provide the following production and distribution credits at the top of your text.

Credits for a film review should look like this:

Ugetsu (1953) Japan

Director Kenji Mizoguchi

Runtime 97 minutes

Credits for a DVD review should look like this:

Ugetsu (1953) Japan

Director Kenji Mizoguchi

Runtime 97 minutes

DVD USA, 2005

Distributed by The Criterion Collection (region 1)

Credits for a Blu-ray review should look like this:

Touch of Evil (1958) USA

Director Orson Welles

Runtime 111 minutes

Blu-ray UK, 2011

Distributed by Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region B/2)

Contributor & Contact Details

Please submit with any text an author biography, as you would like it to appear when your text is published. Please keep this to around 50 words in length. For feature articles, we ask that you also provide: (1) a biography of the faculty or staff mentor who supported this article in some way; and (2) an overview of the department or university that you attend. As with the author biography above, please limit these two statements to around 50 words each.

All authors should also list your contact details, including:

 preferred email address, so that we may contact you during the editing process as needed  preferred mailing address, so that we may send you a copy of the printed issue when it is ready.

Given the variable nature of publishing and production schedules, we may be working on a lag – or well in advance. As such, it is best to provide us with a stable (i.e., non-school) email address (in case you graduate in the interim) and the mailing address of a parent or guardian (in the event that you may move after graduation). It is important to note that we will not publish or share your contact details; they are used solely for internal communication.

Thanks

Your conscientious reading of and adherence to these guidelines are appreciated. And, as always, many thanks for your wonderful and valued contributions to Film Matters. Your service and scholarship help make us great. It is a pleasure to work with you.